
Announcing the Winners & Finalists!

Portrait photography is some of the most iconic work created by photographers — so we went out in search of the New Photographic Portrait. We are thrilled with what we found!
Photographers from across the world and 130 countries shared their strongest portraiture and our international jury carefully selected a powerful and diverse group.
The work below showcases the full range of what portraiture has to offer — environmental portraits, conceptual work, self-portraits, digitally manipulated images — all within intricate, nuanced series or arresting single images. In total, we’ve discovered 38 inventive approaches that represent just as many different ways of looking at the world and looking at each other. Enjoy!
LensCulture Portrait Awards Series Winners
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On the Shore of a Vanishing Island1st Place Series Winner
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Qingdao Beach2nd Place Series Winner
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Ms. Ulmer3rd Place Series Winner
LensCulture Portrait Awards Single Image Winners
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Alexzandria1st Place Single Image Winner
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Twins2nd Place Single Image Winner
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Band of Brothers3rd Place Single Image Winner
LensCulture Portrait Awards Jurors' Picks
to win a special Juror's Pick $1,000 grant.
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BeholdSelected by Alexa Becker Learn why
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Township: Life after South African ApartheidSelected by Paula Tognarelli Learn why
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The Unknown SoldierSelected by Deborah Dragon Learn why
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Great portraits often reveal moments of unexpected honesty, when the “mask” is dropped, and the real person emerges in the picture.
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Bittersweet on Bostwick LaneSelected by Anna Walker Skillman Learn why
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The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed ForcesSelected by MaryAnn Camilleri Learn why
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Black FacesSelected by Jim Casper Learn why
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American ArchivesSelected by Natalie Matutschovsky Learn why
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LensCulture Portrait Awards Finalists
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Ability
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Waiting to Catch a Glimpse of the Rebbe
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Looking Back to the West
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Sez & Sarah
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A Different Look: Looking Closely at Albinism
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Portraits, self-portraits and selfies represent the most common use of photography worldwide — so, what makes a great portrait?
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Kashmir
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Boy with Dead Birds
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Solar Portraits in Myanmar
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Balaton, the Hungarian Sea
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Kitchen Gods
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Infliction
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Portraits are mesmerizing and universal — as humans we can all relate to each other instinctively, just through a picture.
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Teens and the Loneliness of AIDS
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Waria
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There Are No Homosexuals in Iran
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Every Breath We Drew
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Portrait of West Africa's Secret Societies
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Komi-Land
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Muxes
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Rising Water
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Unspoken Conversations: Mothers and Daughters
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Suruz Ali
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Women's Energy
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Lost and Found
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Breeda en Sestre//Brothers and Sisters
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Mama Africa: Trans Women in South African Townships and Rural Areas
2015 International Jury

She has a BFA in photography and lives in New York City.

Alexa Becker is the Acquisitions Editor for photography and art books for Kehrer Verlag Book Publisher. Having obtained her Master's in Art History from the University of Heidelberg, she started her career at Kehrer in 2003, where she is responsible for selecting and acquiring new photography-related projects.
Founded in 1995, Kehrer Verlag in Heidelberg Germany specializes in books in the fields of photography, fine arts, and culture, working together closely with international artists, authors, museums and cultural institutions.

Ontario, Canada
Director, Flash Forward Festival
Boston, USA
Through its successful emerging photographers program, Flash Forward, Magenta’s expansion into Boston has allowed the organization to set a standard for community collaboration while developing both a domestic and international presence vital to the success of artists. Magenta’s latest diversification and growth will continue through Magenta POP. These pop up art exhibitions premiered September 2013 in Pittsburgh and continue, making the City of Pittsburgh its next base.
Notable titles published by Magenta include Phantom Shanghai and Hanoi Calling by Greg Girard, The Station Point by Robert Bourdeau, The Dead by Jack Burman, Carte Blanche Volumes 1 & 2 and the Flash Forward Festival Catalogues 2004 to the present. Upcoming Titles include The Watchers by Haley Morris- Cafiero and Self & Other: Portrait as Autobiography by Aline Smithson.

She holds an M.S. in Arts Administration from Boston University, BA from Regis College, is a graduate of the New England School of Photography and is a current candidate for her Masters in Education at Lesley University. She has juried and curated exhibitions internationally including American Photo's Image of the Year, Photoville's Fence, Flash Forward Festival, Deland Arts Festival, Center for Fine Art Photography, PDN's Photo Annual, PDN's Curator Awards, the Kontinent Awards, the Filter Festival in Chicago, San Francisco International Photography Exhibition, Your Daily Photograph for Duncan Miller Gallery, the Lishui International Photography Festival in Lishui, China. She is a regular participant in national and local portfolio reviews, has been a panelist and featured speaker at photography events and conferences including MacWorld. She has been a panelist for the Massachusetts Cultural Council's Photography Fellowships and is a nominator for the Prix Pictet in Geneva, Switzerland, a nominator for the Heinz Prize in Pennsylvania, the Robert Gardner Fellowship at Harvard University, the St. Botolph Prize and the Rappaport Prize in Massachusetts. She is a past member of the Xerox Technical Advisory Board. She is on the advisory board of the New England School of Photography and the Flash Forward Festival Boston.


